FOR THE SUN AFTER LONG NIGHTS

Two Iranian journalists chronicle protests against Iran’s oppressive Islamic Republic, and the regime’s repressive reaction.

Jamalpour’s and Tabrizy’s primary lens is the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, which sprang up forcefully following the 2022 killing of Mahsa Jîna Amini by Tehran’s morality police for her refusal to wear a hijab. While Iran’s decades-long transition from monarchy to democracy to theocratic autocracy has led to numerous revolutionary efforts and calls for reform, this movement has been notable in its widespread multiethnic support and engagement of Gen Z. In this collaboration, the authors bear witness to atrocities that have been pitifully underreported, oversimplified, and misunderstood by international media, and they situate the demands of the “sixth generation of Iranian feminists” within the longer tradition of activism in their country. Jamalpour reports firsthand from the streets of Tehran, cataloging daily protest gatherings along with the humiliations, detainments, and arrests of her and her fellow protestors. Tabrizy’s coverage comes from the offices of the New York Times and Washington Post, where she is determined to counter disinformation in, from, and about her homeland. Jamalpour’s nail-biting account of her protest attendance—told in straightforward prose—weaves with Jamalpour's efforts to verify visuals and collect testimony from Tabrizy's physically safe but emotionally fraught position within the diaspora. Both authors demonstrate deep love for their country and its diverse makeup and shed light on the tug of war between cultural expansion and contraction that has defined turbulent years of political conflict and economic desperation. Their respect for the nature and power of journalism in situations of conflict and oppression strengthens their storytelling resolve. In a project undertaken at great personal risk, the authors’ compiled historical context, frank personal reflection, and conscientious recordkeeping constitute a critically important “first rough draft” of a significant moment being ignored in real time.

Personally driven, historically necessary, and politically salient.